Gran Turismo: The Story of Sam Black
by GamerRob17
Summary: Based on the bestselling Gran Turismo franchise, this story follows Sam Black, an eccentric, car loving speed demon who dreams of one day becoming the fastest and most skillful driver in the world.
1. Chapter 1

"Just pick a car already," Sam's mother pressured. But he was having a difficult time figuring which car he wanted as his first one. Even from the time he spent playing racing games as a kid, he never could choose the perfect first car. Now it was here, at this car lot, that he would finally pick his first real car on his sixteenth birthday. It was here, he hoped, that it would be the start of a promising career in racing. The only restriction, according to his mother, was a $30,000 budget that he was expected to adhere to.

"But mom," Sam replied, "there are so many of them, ant you are giving me too little time to choose." She had given him just 10 minutes to find the car of his dreams, and in his defense, there truly was a wide variety of cars that he could pick from. Mustangs and Toyotas. Camaros and Jaguars. It truly was a paradise to Sam, if only he had a wide enough preference. His specialty was Classic American muscle cars, but there were only more modern varieties, so he had to rely on past gaming experiences to make an educated decision.

Firstly, he eliminated any Japanese cars, because even though they have great gas mileage, they aren't exactly known for speed. Next, he tried to ignore most modern American cars, but kept his eye on the Camaro and the Mustang, Finally, he tried to eliminate the overly expensive luxury cars in the lot. After taking all of that into account, he decided on the 2006 Ford Mustang, capable of speeds up to 150 mph.

"I want this one," Sam exclaimed to his mom. She frowned at the price tag of $25,000; while under her initial budget, she started trying to pressure him into a cheaper car like the Volkswagen Beetle. She argued that it was a great all-purpose car, yet Sam's mind was dead set on that Mustang. Eventually, she caved in and agreed on the Mustang.

After the purchase was made, Sam's first question was "Can I drive it home, mom?"

"No, Sam," she replied, "I think you should wait and take some more lessons…"

"NNNOOOOO!" Sam yelled. "I WANT TO RIDE IT NOW!" Sam was very persistent, but so was his mom. After about an hour of arguing, Sam's mom once again caved and allowed him to drive it STRAIGHT home, on the condition that he doesn't touch it for a month.

"Wait," Sam countered, "I didn't agree to that! I'll just wait."

"My mind is made up, Sam," she replied. "It seems clear that you are very excited to try it out. So, just drive it home, then hand me the keys on your way through the door."

After his constant moaning, Sam finally said "Fine!" He obviously wasn't happy, but at least he would have the opportunity to test out the power his new ride had. After saying his goodbyes, Sam hopped in his car and turned the key, hearing the engine roar to life. After listening to the car's roar for a full minute, he shifted to first gear and darted out of the dealership, hoping this will be the start of a beautiful future in racing.


	2. Chapter 2

"Man, just listen to her purr," Sam said to himself, admiring his new car. He just couldn't get over how excited he was over it; he dreamed of this moment for years, but never realized how epic it would be. He was also bummed, however, since he could only drive it home, so he'll just make the most of it by taking the scenic route home.

As he neared the first stoplight on his route, he heard booming coming from behind him; before he could see what it was, the culprit pulled up right beside him: his biggest rival Max.

"Hey, punk," Max announced over his booming stereo. "Nice ride!"

"Thanks," Sam replied, "I just…"

"Didn't want it in black, Black?" Max snapped. Sam absolutely despised being called by his last name, especially by Max.

"Why don't you just shut up, you bully?"

"Bully? Can't think of more complex words, nerd?" That pushed Sam over the edge.

"THAT'S IT! How about a race to decide who is lamer? I know you can't refuse!"

Max only pondered this for a second. "You're on, geek!" Max proclaimed. "First one to the firehouse pays for gas?" Sam revved his engine as a response and rolled up his window to stop further communication. As the both of them revved up their cars in preparation, Max noticed the police car coming up behind them and backed out while he had a chance. As the light turned green, Sam bolted from his position at 60 mph, and the officer behind him began his pursuit, lights flashing and all. But, Sam's car was revving too loud for him to notice until…

"WEE, WOO, WEE, WOO!" the siren wailed. Sam bolted to see behind him the flashing, noisy police car chasing him.

"Aw, crap," Sam proclaimed, as he eased up and prepared to stop on the side of the road.

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"He did WHAT?!" Sam's mom yelled, talking to the "kind" police officer that stopped Sam. After he got stopped, he was immediately taken back to his mom's house, where he got his $350 speeding ticket and had his car impounded.

"After revving his engine at a red light," the police officer started, "he bolted on green and got up to about 100 mph before deciding to abide."

"Officer," Sam began, "you don't understand. I was arguing with a rival of mine, and then…"

"Just shut up," his mom scolded. She was really mad with him now. "This is EXACTLY what I was worried about. This is why I told you to get that Bug! But NOOOO!" The police officer cleared his throat.

"Um, Mrs. Black," the officer said. "You do know this is a serious offence, right?"

She replied, "Yes, officer."

"Well then," he continued, "I should inform you that in addition to the ticket and car impoundment, your son's license has been suspended indefinitely until he has been deemed acceptable to drive. Good day to you, ma'am." The officer handed her the ticket, went back to his car, and drove away. Sam didn't want to talk with his mom, but he did anyways.

"Mom," Sam started, "I know you might be a bit mad, but…"

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" She was ticked now. "First you tell me the Mustang was the better choice. Then you speeded, got the car impounded, and tried to LIE?" Then, she began to recompose himself.

"Samuel," She stated, "You are grounded, until you graduate." Sam wanted to burst at her like a volcano, but he knew it was pointless.

Instead, he just said, silently, "Yes, mom."


	3. Chapter 3

TWO YEARS LATER…

"I'm so proud of him," Sam's mom bragged as he saw him walk up to the stage for his high school diploma. For the both of them, they can't believe that two years had passed already. And to think that they had just had a falling out due to Sam's racing issues; as a matter of fact, since he got grounded, Sam pretty much gave up on his racing potential since he had no access to his car or video games since that fateful day.

After two years, Sam turned 18, became more pro-social, and never had another run-in with the police; while it made his mom happy, he had mixed feelings about it, as his true passion was still cars and professional racing. Even without much practice, Sam still tells himself that he's still got it in him.

As he walked onto the staged, he shook hands with the principal, received his diploma, and walked back to his seat. Unfortunately, he was forced to sit next to Max: the one who caused his two year hiatus behind the wheel.

"Hey," Max started. "Congratulations, geek wad." Sam remained silent.

"Hey," Max persisted. "Are you listening, nerd?" Again, Sam stayed quiet.

"Humph! You're no fun. What did I do?"

"Think about it, jerk." Sam snarled. Max remained silent for the rest of the ceremony.

After two hours, the ceremony was over, and Sam was taking pictures with people whom he might never see again; in his mind, though, he can't wait to spend an eternity away from the biggest jerk of Jerk Mountain. After he said goodbye, Sam's mom ran up and hugged his soon to be successful son.

"Oh, honey," she said. "How do you feel?"

"Great, I guess," Sam replied. "I just miss being behind the wheel."

"I know, honey. But you still haven't earned your license back yet."

"Don't you think I know that?" Sam paused. "Let's just go home, mom. I'm exhausted." Sam then began his trek to his mom's minivan.

At home, Sam went through his usual routine: eat dinner, shower, brush his teeth, and sank his head into his soft, squishy pillow.

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At 7 in the morning, Sam finally awoke after such a late night yesterday. As he stretched, he noticed an envelope on his desk, next to his diploma. He ripped it open, and was shocked to find his old Mustang car keys and a handwritten note from his mom.

It read: "Dear Sam, I had to help grandma out for today. Go get your license and don't screw up twice! Kisses, Mom." Sam actually had to read the note several times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Then, it only took him a minute to get dressed, pounce out the front door, and hop in his car to go take his driving test again. And it only took him half an hour to get his new license.

"Aww, YEAH!" Sam exclaimed to the world. "Looks like old Sam Black still has a future yet, everyone!" And with that, he went to a nearby race track to see if he could hold his own. He darted through the entrance, through the pits, and onto the track at 100 mph. He rounded the corners with such ease that to Sam, it was as if he was going straight the whole time.

"WHOO-HOOO!" He screamed to the world. Fr the first time in years, Sam actually felt alive. Then, almost like answering a call, another car darted onto the track, stopping at the finish line to wait for Sam. As Sam pulled up next to the unknown driver, he noticed something seemed familiar about this car; flame red, chromed wheels, booming stereo…

"Aloha, loser!" Max exclaimed. He should've known graduation wasn't the end of his encounters.

"YOU!" Sam yelled as he ran to Max's car. "I'M GONNA FREAKING **MURDER** YOU!" And yet, Sam was able to restrain his composed posture.

"Whoa, man! Can't we just leave the past in the past, buddy?"

"HELL, NO! You cost me years of doing what I love the most!"

"Are you kidding me? You're the one with the temper, which is why you NEVER noticed that officer behind you! LET IT GO!" But Sam just couldn't be led into believing what is, in fact, the hard truth.

"I've got a suggestion," Sam snarled. "How's about we have ourselves that race we never started? Loser admits they're lying." Max pondered this for a minute.

"OK, fine," Max agreed. "But I'll still beat you like I would've those few years ago." Now Sam was having trouble restraining himself.

"You better get ready, punk! Because it's about time I get my REVENGE!" As the two revved their engines, Sam was just thinking how awesome it will be to whoop Max at his own game, and how embarrassed he will feel.

"THREE!" Max started.

"TWO!" Sam continued.

"ONE!" Max added. Now they were just as pumped as ever to begin the race.

"GO!" They both finished.


	4. Chapter 4

His head bolted back from the acceleration, Sam easily took an early lead ahead of Max, who didn't even release his parking brake. But by the time he did, Max was a full five seconds behind Sam, who continued to bolt like lighting. Yet inside, besides the power of the engine deafening him, Sam didn't seem to feel or notice that that he was speeding at around 130 mph; heck, even the various items that littered his floor remained where they were before he started.

"OHH, YEAH!" Sam yelled. "NOW **THIS** IS WHAT I CALL POWER!" He glanced out the window only to see the flame red blur that is Max zip past him. Now he was fast AND furious. Thinking quickly, he immediately drifted behind Max's speed demon so he could take advantage of the low wind resistance behind him. This helped a little, but Max still drifted further away every second.

As the both of them exited turn two, the noise started to attract people from the nearby ghetto, who started to cheer on the exhilarating match-up; but neither Sam nor Max cared enough to notice, their minds hardwired on the race.

As Sam pulled up next to Max, he rolled down his window and yelled, "Smell you later, loser!" In an instant, Sam once again took the lead, but Max still had one more trick left up his sleeve. He flipped a switch that instantaneously boosted his speed, courtesy of his nitrous oxide tank. Like before, he took the lead from Sam, but the crowd began to boo at his cheap shot to get ahead. But Sam, too, had a trick to pull.

"Hey, Max," Sam yelled out his window. "This is for my suspension, you jerk." Although he wasn't completely caught up, he was just close enough to bump the back right hand corner of Max's car, nitrous still burning, which caused the both of them to go spiraling out of control as they entered turn four.

"BLAAAAAACK!" Max screamed, as his flaming red baby dashed onto the blanket of grass, his engine stalling, and leaving him shaken up and defeated. Sam, however, managed to turn his steering wheel at just the right angle and time, which caused him to drift out of the turn and dash for the finish line, the clear winner of the race. But, knowing Max could be back any minute, he drove out of the track and back onto the road, abiding to the 35 mph speed limit as if nothing happened.

After parking at a nearby gas station, Sam let out a sigh of relief, happy he was able to not only beat Max at his own game, but that he got out without being noticed. At that instant, two patrol cars darted in the opposite direction of where he just came from.

"Whew," Sam sighed. "I sure am glad I left when I did." Although he was aware he was talking to himself, he didn't care. In one day, he got his car back, received a new drivers license, and beat his biggest rival to the point that the police probably had to impound HIS car, just like Sam's car had two years prior. Satisfied with his victory and his pride intact, Sam restarted his car and headed back to his mom's house, worn out and pooped.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam finally pulled up to his mom's house after traveling for half an hour of endless driving. He exited his car, and as he went to open the garage door, he noticed the dent on his car's upper right hand corner.

"AHHHH," he yelled. The dent was the size of a golf ball, but the paint chips were definitely noticeable.

"How will I fix it?" he asked himself. He opened the garage door, pulled the car forward, and hastily slammed the door behind him. He now went to the old, brown colored toolbox his father left him and tried to find a hammer to pound out the dent. He found his shiny, stainless steel hammer, but he still needed some paint to cover the chips.

"SCREECH!" There was a noise coming from outside; when he looked, Sam nearly had a heart attack. It was his mom, pulling in after a long day gone.

"Oh, CRAP!" Sam exclaimed. He wasn't done yet, and he still hadn't buffed out the dent. So, he shut out the light and hid in the corner so he wouldn't get caught; besides, his mom would kill him if his car was damaged.

"SAAAAM," she called, "I'm HOME!" Sam was sweating bullets now, as his hide and seek skills were never very good to begin with. She was so close, in fact, that Sam could hear the thud of her shoes. The door began to creak eerily open, the light shining in like the sun.

"SAAAAAAAM?" She called again. She noticed that the car was safely parked in the middle of the garage.

"I hate to admit it," she started, "but that really was a good choice for a car." She rubbed her hand against the hood, as if she owned the car for years. Sam was breathing heavily now, since she could find anyone very easily in her house. Yet, she started walking out as if she looked everywhere for him; just as she was about to close the door, Sam tried to tiptoe past the door and kicked a wrench.

"Oh no, oh no," Sam whispered to himself as he hurried to sneak inside the car; he wasn't fast enough, so he had to roll under the car in order to hide. He was sweating bullets again, a nervous wreck. It didn't help that his mom's footsteps got louder with each one. Fortunately for him, she trekked to the spot he was hiding at, turned up nothing, and went back inside without finding him. Sam rolled out from under the car with a big grease stain on the back of his shirt.

"Oh, MAN!" He yelled. He cupped his hands, hoping her mom wouldn't come back. She never came back, so he sighed in relief. He went to work trying to buff the ding out QUIETLY so his mom still wouldn't hear.

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"It's done!" Sam announced to the tools in the garage; he finally, after an hour of work, got the dent buffed and repainted, even though the metal is still bumpy from smashing. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do to keep his mom from finding out. As he exited the garage, his mom ran up to and hugged Sam.

"There you are!" she cried, concerned like he was missing for years, even though it was only a day.

"Of course I am," Sam replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I never leave you home alone," she replied back. "I couldn't feel responsible for anything that happens to…"

"MOOOM," Sam yelled. "I'm 18 and a high school graduate. I think I can handle myself for now."

"Well, OK, but…" There came a light knocking noise coming from the front door. Sam walked towards the door and looked through the peephole to find a Ford GT speeding away. He wasted no time in opening the hardwood door, and looked towards the way the car darted; he just missed it.

"Wow," Sam said in awe. "A Ford GT! That guy must be rich." As he turned around, he saw a blank envelope hanging on the door, with absolutely no distinguishing features.

"Maybe this is for me," Sam said to himself. Before he could open it, his mom snatched it from him.

"Let me check," she replied in response. "It could be a stalker, or a death threat, or…"

"You're being overprotective again, mom," Sam whined back.

"Sorry, sweetie," she apologized. She ripped open the dull white envelope only to find a fancy, red and blue striped folded piece of paper. She on folded it and started to dart her eyes across the page. Sam could tell it was for him, because a: his mom doesn't have any friends that WRITE her anymore, and b: her expression was changing every five seconds as she kept reading.

After she finished, she was in stunned silence. "It…" she blurted. "It IS for you." She silently handed him the letter that can even shut Sam's own mother up.

He began reading the surprisingly neat, handwritten letter with anxious eyes.

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"Dear Sam Black:

Hello. I am Kazunori Yamauchi, but you can call me Kaz. You might not know who I am, but I couldn't help but notice your little race from this afternoon. I mean, the way you were able to find the absolutely right way to spin your opponent out was amazing; but the way you recovered from that spinout was nothing short of a miracle. You have a gift, I can tell, for I myself am a champion racer from Japan who knows almost every facet of racing.

Now, I could go on forever about my background and my pure enjoyment of your little race, but I'll cut to the chase. I've been searching the back roads of the world, looking for a champion whose talents are going to waste. I believe you are the diamond in the rough I've been looking for. I would like for you to come out to Japan to join a new international racing league I'm forming called the Gran Turismo League; it's designed for aspiring racers, such as yourself, to someday move up to the biggest races of the world, like the 24 Hours at Le Mans.

Now, I know I'm asking for much, but I believe you are the great racer I've been looking for, I can feel it. If you want to join me, contact me and I'll gladly set up a flight to Japan in a heartbeat; if you don't, good luck trying to break through over there. I hope to hear from you soon.

Forever Yours,

Kazunori Yamauchi"

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Sam's hands were now shaking. How could this man, a famous racer from Japan, end up at his race with Max at just the right time for him to be impressed?

"You all right, Sammy?" his mom said, breaking the silence.

He nodded. "I think so." In reality, he didn't know what to think. The letter isn't a fake; it's too well written to be a fake. Was this famous racer really asking him to go to Japan to live out his dream of becoming a racer?

"I…" his mom started, but she quickly stopped herself. Obviously, this is what she wants for her son: to be happy and follow his dream.

"The choice is yours," she said. "I won't get in the way of your decision. Whatever you choose, I'll always love you."

Sam pondered this for only a minute. "I know what I want to do," Sam spoke with confidence.


End file.
